Leading Through M&A: The role of communication to guide teams, culture, and brands through integration

Leading Through M&A: The role of communication to guide teams, culture, and brands through integration

Global mergers and acquisitions (M&A) reached all-time highs in 2021, and continued throughout 2022. There are many reasons that companies acquire and merge with other businesses: to boost growth, acquire technology, expand talent, and fend off competitors.  Despite all the upside potential of a good deal, there are also real challenges that come with integrating teams, cultures, offerings, and brands. As dealmakers calculate the top and bottom line impacts for growth, they must also anticipate the critical role of communications leadership to guide people (internal and external) through change. This recorded webinar conversation features a panel of marketing and M&A…
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We helped prepare 52 bikes for kids this holiday season at Free Bikes for Kidz!

We helped prepare 52 bikes for kids this holiday season at Free Bikes for Kidz!

Last Thursday, a group of Two or More volunteers came together at Free Bikes for Kids in Minnetonka, MN, to prepare 52 bikes for children in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. These bikes will be distributed to kids in our local community this December. In total, our volunteers contributed 54 hours of community service, focusing on cleaning, prepping, and repairing the bikes to ensure they were ready for their new owners. This included tasks like washing frames, adjusting brakes and gears, and inflating/replacing tires. They also made sure each bike was safe to ride by tightening bolts, checking the chains, and…
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TRU Healthcare: Client Story

TRU Healthcare: Client Story

TRU Healthcare enlisted the help of an Authentic Fractional CMO to create a new brand identity and customer experience. "We've had several major accomplishments, starting with the development of a comprehensive brand architecture for TRU Healthcare and its subsidiaries, followed by establishing baseline KPIs to measure our progress, and implementing a CRM to more effectively track our marketing impact. It feels like we're now approaching marketing with greater precision and effectiveness." Tim Lively, President & CEO, TRU Healthcare TRU Healthcare at a glance Company size: 105 employees Business type: Healthcare services Category: B2C Headquarters: Arden Hills, Minnesota Key initiatives: brand…
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Rada Manufacturing: Client Story

Rada Manufacturing: Client Story

Cutlery manufacturer Rada sought help from an Authentic Fractional CMO to guide the organization through a pivotal time of change in business strategy. “For a lot of small and medium-sized businesses, it can be scary to ask for help. But, I’d recommend people do because the best case scenario is that you’ll have a mountain guide that goes on the entire journey with you, guiding you, giving you support, and helping you reach the next level.” Phil Jones, President, Rada Manufacturing https://youtu.be/zbpRHezKbUo Rada Manufacturing at a glance Company size: 97 employees Business type: B2C Category: Manufacturing / Distribution, Consumer Goods…
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I Hereby Demand, Demand!

I Hereby Demand, Demand!

It’s one thing for a CEO or Sales leader to proclaim “We need more leads!” and something altogether different to generate qualified demand. Most marketers have experienced some level of unrealistic pressure to just make leads happen. Advertising or sponsorship spend can buy eyeballs. But by themselves, these tactics won’t build healthy revenue. So what’s a growing business to do? While new leads are critical, they aren’t the only avenue for healthy revenue growth and profitability. And getting to qualified, scalable net-new lead inflow takes strategic focus, trial-and-error, and most importantly - time.  Join us for a recorded webinar conversation,…
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How to Get More Value from Your Agency Relationships

How to Get More Value from Your Agency Relationships

Many growing businesses will engage agency partners before ever employing an internal marketer or marketing leader. And many of these businesses will experience frustration with agency partner communication, project timelines, budgets, and outcomes. We know this is true because it’s one of the primary reasons clients seek Authentic Brand’s help: Entrepreneurial businesses struggle to select the right-fit agency partners, and then they struggle to understand (or leverage) the value of their capabilities. All too often, agency relationships and engagements falter. But why? Are agencies to blame? Are client expectations unrealistic? Is there a better way to manage client and agency…
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There is no marketing silver bullet: Brand-building is a long term game

There is no marketing silver bullet: Brand-building is a long term game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZeNJK8juVs Video Transcription Ryan Tansom: And like, I think where people get lost is they just got sold that like this one tool is like the solution to the whole customer journey. And it's just so wrong and it's paralyzing. When you think about, like you said, like, what is there a million probably SaaS tools that all fit somewhere in that customer journey. Jennifer Zick: Yeah, yeah. I've written extensively about these kinds of topics on our website and on our blog over the years. Because there absolutely is a lot of snake oil and pixie dust being sprinkled…
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Marketing through Channel / Partner relationships

Marketing through Channel / Partner relationships

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY1r1GW3T0M Video Transcription Partnership and alliances can make a huge difference in growing your professional services organization through strong referrals and qualified deals. But nothing happens automagically in partnership. Just because you sign a contract doesn't mean your pipeline will suddenly be busting with opportunity. Partnerships require a unique approach, and if you're thinking of making partnerships a core component of your business growth, you will need to radically rethink the role of marketing in your organization.  Hi, I'm Jennifer Zick, Founder and CEO of Authentic®. Our community of fractional CMOs helps growing businesses to Overcome Random Acts of Marketing®…
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Does your marketing program feel like an expensive, never-ending experiment?

Does your marketing program feel like an expensive, never-ending experiment?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IjTgzY0MCM Video Transcription Is your company struggling with marketing on a 90 day experiment basis, feeling like you're launching campaign after program after project, but not getting anywhere in terms of understanding what kind of return on that investment you're receiving? If that's the case, you are not alone.  Hi, I'm Jennifer Zick, founder and CEO of Authentic®. Our community of fractional CMOs work with growing companies, usually between 5 and 100 million in annual revenue. And for these small growing businesses, we help them to Overcome Random Acts of Marketing® and confidently take the next right step to build…
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[Event Recap] VIP.MN Fall Mixer for Visionaries, Integrators, and Implementer Partners

[Event Recap] VIP.MN Fall Mixer for Visionaries, Integrators, and Implementer Partners

With Minnesota being one of the richest communities of businesses running on The Entrepreneurial Operating System® (EOS), and with great success and enthusiasm from our event in June, we brought together our wonderful community of Visionaries, Integrators, and Implementer Partners (VIPs) together for another in-person event in early October.  Nearly 100 Visionaries, Integrators, and Implementer Partners joined us for a fun evening of great food, tasty drinks, and even better conversation.  View the full photo gallery Founder of Integrator Community™ Jennifer Zick had this to say about the event:  “There’s something incredibly special about spending time with other entrepreneurs and…
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